When the Scottsdale Culinary Festival throws its annual Great Arizona Picnic, some booths familiar to West Valley visitors will be on hand.

The festival, the oldest of its kind in the country, runs through Sunday, April 13, with various epicurean events around Scottsdale. Among them: a wine brunch, a chocolate and wine tasting, the Battle of the Burgers and the April 12-13 picnic, which will draw crowds into the park surrounding the Scottsdale Center for the Arts.

Nothing Bundt Cakes, which has a store in Glendale, plans to sample some of its most popular flavors as a finish to the Battle of the Burgers, where more than a dozen restaurants will square off in a burger competition.

George Avila, of Surprise, will make his third appearance at the Great Arizona Picnic with his Nina's Concessions. Avila visits arts events, food festivals and spring-training sites around the Valley selling a variety of foods, from hot dogs and sausages to curly potatoes.

"Every weekend, it's a different place," he said.

At the Scottsdale Culinary Festival, his tents will serve shaved ice, kettle corn and, for the first time, funnel cakes.

At the funnel-cake stand, Avila's team will prepare fresh batter to order and spin those deep-fried whorls of dough sprinkled with powdered sugar, topped with strawberry sauce or drizzled with chocolate and caramel.

"I love it," said Avila, who started with a hot-dog stand 20 years ago. "That's the thing about this business. You have to like people. I like serving people."

Also at the picnic, John Roach will pull in with his White Eyes Fry Bread trailer, which travels around the Valley peddling hot, savory and sweet pillows of dough. White Eyes also has a restaurant in Glendale.

Roach constructed his trailer so that the inside preparation equipment easily rolls out and parks under one of the tents on the lawn where more than 50 restaurants will be selling samples of their fare.

This is White Eyes' third trip to the festival.

"I love it," Roach said. "When you get all those people there, it's a frenzy. It's a party atmosphere — food, food, drink, drink."

Because the food is sample size, Roach will make his usual fry bread and cut each into quarters with slices sold for a few coupons. He'll offer Indian tacos with ground beef, a vegetarian taco and sweet versions such as powdered sugar. He also plans to serve his little beignets.

"It's so much fun," he said. "We look forward to it."

Details: For tickets, call 480-945-7193 or go to scottsdalefest.org/tickets.